Needham leads Fairfield to romp over Siena

Updated 12:46 am, Friday, February 15, 2013

Right after that game Tuesday night, the Fairfield senior was in Walsh Gym and hoisted up 400 shots. He repeated the ritual Thursday morning and again before the team left for the Webster Bank Arena.

Needham only needed 17 shots against Siena Thursday night, but just about every one of them was a dagger to the Saints in a 74-52 drubbing in front of 1,756 fans.

Needham finished with 31 points, one off his career high, and made 8-of-11 three-pointers for the Stags (16-11, 8-7).

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Game at a glanceGAME MVP: Senior guard Derek Needham scored 17 of his 31 points in the first half to ignite the Stags past Siena 74-52. He finished 8 of 11 on 3-pointers, a career high.KEYS TO VICTORY: A fast start. After tallying just 12 first-half points against Manhattan, the Stags tripled that against Siena by shooting 53.8 percent (14-for-26) in the opening 20 minutes. Fairfield made 11-of-25 3-point attempts.UP NEXT: Monday vs. Iona at Webster Bank Arena, 7 p.m.-- WILLIAM S. PAXTON

"He was ready," said teammate Colin Nickerson, who finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and five assists. "He got to the gym early today and he got to the gym early before we left."

The Saints (6-20, 4-11), who have dropped four straight and posted just their third 20-loss season, won't soon forget Needham's night, which began with a 3-pointer just 38 seconds in to give Fairfield a 3-0 lead.

"Off the way they played against Manhattan, I thought the zone defense would be way more effective," said Siena coach Mitch Buonaguro, formerly Fairfield's head coach. "We ran into a team that made everything. That's as good as I've seen Derek Needham play and I've seen him play a lot in three years.

"He was making everything."

Needham made just 1-of-10 shots against the Jaspers. Against the Saints, he was 11 of 17, including 6 for 9 in the first half, when he hit five 3-pointers to help Fairfield take a 36-23 lead. The Stags never lost their double-digit edge in the second half and finished at 50.9 shooting (29-for-57) from the field.

"Be aggressive, be confident and try to make sure my teammates see the energy so they can follow it," Needham said about his pregame mindset. "I didn't want us to come out still having a lag from last game."

The Stags made eight of their 11 3-pointers in the first half and got contributions from eight players on offense.

"He's a terrific player and made some unbelievable plays," Siena guard Evan Hymes said of Needham. "We tried to go to the triangle and 2, it sort of slowed him down a little bit, but once he got going, he was difficult to stop."

Siena, which was playing without guard Rakeem Brookins (back), was led by 14 points from Hymes. Star forward O.D. Anosike had just five points and six rebounds.

"(Derek`s) energy was great and once they see him knocking down shots, everyone was like, `OK, it's my turn to knock down a shot,'" Nickerson said. "It was just a domino effect, and it worked."